Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce Writers Theatre's 2025/26 season. The five-play season is marked by four productions never seen before in Chicago and two add-on special engagements.
Following Hershey Felder's sold-out, acclaimed appearance at Writers Theatre in the 2023-24 season, Felder returns to launch this season with his brand-new musical play Rachmaninoff and the Tsar. The season continues with a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It by Tony Award winner Shaina Taub (Suffs), directed by Artistic Director Braden Abraham with music direction by Michael Mahler. Celebrated Chicago director Lisa Portes joins Writers for the first time to direct Two Sisters and a Piano, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, followed by the Midwest Premiere of the off-Broadway/Broadway hit Job by Max Wolf Friedlich, directed by David Esbjornson. The subscription season caps off with the Midwest and Chicago Premiere of Tom Stoppard's epic, Tony Award-winning play Leopoldstadt, directed by Carey Perloff. The season also includes two productions available as add-ons to subscription packages: the one-night only special event of Hershey Felder's Great American Songbook Sing-Along, and a limited engagement of sleight of hand magician Harry Milas' The Unfair Advantage.
Season Packages are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, and at the Box Office by calling 847-242-6000.
Writers Theatre Artistic Director Braden Abraham comments, "I am immensely proud of our 25/26 season at Writers Theatre; it's a line-up rich in unique personal experiences and global perspectives at a time when cultural resilience has never been more vital. Spanning many different times, places and genres—from Vienna in the early 20th century to Havana in the 1990s, from a music-filled Forest of Arden to a private office in San Francisco—these extraordinary stories invite us to consider who we are, where we come from, and how we find connection in a complex world."
Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, As You Like It, Two Sisters and a Piano, and Leopoldstadt will be performed in The Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre. Job and The Unfair Advantage will be held in The Gillian Theatre. Both spaces are in Writers Theatre's award-winning building at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe, designed by Studio Gang Architects.
Writers Theatre 2025/26 Season includes:
Chicago/Midwest Premiere, part of the play's world premiere season
Hershey Felder and Jonathan Silvestri in
Rachmaninoff and the Tsar
The Music of Sergei V. Rachmaninoff
Book by Hershey Felder
with Hershey Felder as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Jonathan Silvestri as Tsar Nicholas II
Directed by Trevor Hay
August 13 – September 21, 2025
Press Opening: August 15, 2025
Having safely escaped Russia during the 1917 revolution, beloved composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff performed all over the world before eventually making his home in sunny Beverly Hills. Privately longing for the Russia that he knew and loved as a young man, one memory in particular continues to haunt him—Tsar Nicholas II. Hershey Felder's newest musical play will feature the virtuoso actor/pianist in the role of Rachmaninoff alongside British-Italian actor Jonathan Silvestri in the role of Nicholas II. Featuring the composer's most beloved works, Rachmaninoff and the Tsar promises to be another mystical musical journey in the inimitable Hershey Felder style that audiences have come to know and love.
One Night Only
Hershey Felder's Great American Songbook Sing-Along
September 7, 2025
Tickets, starting at $110, available summer 2025
With his signature style and lots of audience participation, Hershey Felder's Great American Songbook Sing-Along takes audiences through 100 years of American music—beginning with Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim ... The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Showboat and more! Audiences are encouraged to sing along with Felder as he leads them through the familiar notes of their favorite songs.
The Chicago/Midwest Premiere of
As You Like It
A Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare's As You Like It
Adapted by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery
Music and Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Directed by Braden Abraham
Music Direction by Michael Mahler
October 30 – December 14, 2025
Press opening: November 7, 2025
Facing exile at home, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind and niece Celia seek safety and refuge in the Forest of Arden. Lost amidst the trees, these wounded souls end up finding a community of acceptance and transformational love, where all are welcomed and embraced. Featuring an original folk-pop score by Shaina Taub (Tony Award-winning composer of Suffs), this musical adaptation of Shakespeare's classic is an immersive dream-like tale of faithful friends, feuding families and chance encounters.
Two Sisters and a Piano
Written by Nilo Cruz
Directed by Lisa Portes
February 26 – March 29, 2026
Press opening: March 6, 2026
Trapped under house arrest, novelist Maria Celia and her sister Sofia can still hear the rumors of the Russians' departure from Cuba in 1991. While awaiting news from Maria's exiled husband and dreaming of their freedom, the two sisters find their small world unexpectedly shaken by the arrival of a romantic young piano tuner and a charismatic military officer infatuated with Maria's writing. Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics) weaves an authentic tale of oppression, human spirit, and intertwining fates in a world of shifting global politics.
The Chicago/Midwest Premiere of
Job
Written by Max Wolf Friedlich
Directed by David Esbjornson
April 9 – June 14, 2026
Press Opening: April 17, 2026
Jane, an employee at a big tech company, has been placed on leave after video of her screaming breakdown at work went viral. Her employers tell Jane she must be evaluated by crisis therapist Loyd before she can be reinstated to the job that gives her life meaning. Their first session together, however, quickly escalates into an epic showdown with a shocking and disturbing twist. A Broadway and Off-Broadway sensation, this intense psychological thriller skewers the insidiousness of the internet, the meaning of work and the ramifications of a secret revealed.
The Chicago/Midwest Premiere of
Leopoldstadt
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Carey Perloff
June 4 – July 19, 2026
Press Opening: June 12, 2026
At the dawn of the 20th century, Vienna is the heart of European culture. While an extended family gathers in the elegant Merz home for the holidays, two brothers-in-law passionately debate their conflicting visions for the future of their family and the Jewish people––a tension that will echo through the generations that follow. Traversing decades of joy and strife, from 1899 to 1955, the latest Tony and Olivier Award-winning masterpiece and most personal play from Tom Stoppard follows one family's reckoning with a past it cannot escape and a future it cannot control.
Frequent Stoppard collaborator Carey Perloff directs this stirring and epic story of love, betrayal, family, and enduring bravery.
Writers Theatre would like to acknowledge the following dedicated donors who have committed generous, foundational funds to help bring this important Chicago and Midwest premiere to our community. Thus far, Major Inaugural Sponsors include Sara and Dan Cohan, The Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, and Alec and Jennifer Litowitz. Inaugural Sponsors include Susan and Don Belgrad, Lloyd Morgan, The Mark and Tricia Rothschild Family Trust, Lizzy Takiff Scheinfeld, Mary Pat and Andy Studdert, the Takiff Family Foundation, Rich and Elaine Tinberg and Craig and Linda Umans. We thank them for their passion and commitment to Writers Theatre and unwavering support for groundbreaking theatrical works.
Season Add-On
The Unfair Advantage
Created and performed by Harry Milas
Produced in the US by Pemberley Productions and Parrot Ox, in association with PitStop Productions
The Gillian Theatre
December 3 - 28, 2025
There will be no press opening for this production
Sleight of hand specialist Harry Milas lifts the veil on the world of card cheating, taking audiences on a journey of deception into a world that very few have experienced and even fewer talk about. During this hour-long intimate experience---performed for an audience of just 35 people---Harry will reveal step by step how magicians, card cheaters, and mentalists fool the world. Expect part performance, part tutorial as Harry exposes many of the best tricks and illusions he knows, displaying the skills that led to him becoming a security weapon for the world's top casinos.
Before participating in the experience, audiences will be asked to sign a legal contract of confidentiality. Please bear this in mind when electing to take part.
The Unfair Advantage is not included in the season subscription packages. Subscriber tickets, $65, are available now only to subscribers. Non-subscriber tickets are $75 and will go on-sale next fall. Each performance is limited to 35 people.
SEASON PACKAGES
Writers Theatre is offering a variety of subscriptions with an option for every theatregoer. Each subscription includes a deeply discounted ticket price, ranging from $275-$375 for one ticket to the five-play series, Flex subscriptions, with options for either four tickets ($280) or five tickets ($350), are available.
Season package subscribers receive the new Writers Theatre concierge service for ticket exchanges and questions. Exclusive subscriber benefits include: complimentary ticket exchanges (upgrade fees may apply), special "subscriber-rate" prices on additional tickets, advance access to special events and programs, easy, free parking, exclusive discounts in bar items and merchandise, discounts on rental of Writers Theatre event spaces on Writers Theatre merchandise, event rentals, and more. For a complete list of benefits visit writerstheatre.org.
Season Packages are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, and at the Box Office by calling 847-242-6000.
Single tickets will go on sale for each show approximately two months prior to first preview. Single ticket prices start at $35.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Throughout the season, Writers Theatre offers a variety of audience enrichment and special programming. This includes regularly occurring offerings like the Family Matinee Series, The Green Room artist interview series and podcast, and The Final Word Audience Discussion Series. Please visit writerstheatre.org/events for a full listing of upcoming offerings.
Writers offers Open Captioning on select dates for each production. Please visit writerstheatre.org/accessibility for more information.
ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
Writers Theatre boldly looks to the future as it begins its 34th season. Having captivated audiences for years with its dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible, the theatre is now a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called "America's finest regional theater company" by The Wall Street Journal. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, the company is charting a path forward for the next 30 years.
Since its founding in 1992, Writers Theatre has stayed true to its core values: valuing the power of the written word and uplifting the artists who bring that word to life. The company has produced over 140 productions—everything from inventive interpretations of classics to groundbreaking new work. In 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility designed by the internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects. The new facility has allowed the Theatre to accommodate its growing audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy.
Writers Theatre now welcomes more than 60,000 patrons each season and has helped establish the North Shore of Chicago as a premier cultural destination. Through its Literary Development Initiative, which has been responsible for the nurturing and premiering of over 30 world premieres, the theatre has established itself as a major originator of new theatrical works. Serving as an extension of the Writers Theatre mission, the Education programs engage an average of 10,000 students each year with active learning opportunities centered around the written word.
